1. The seventh round of negotiations on the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was held in Brussels, Belgium, from October 20 to 24.

2. The meeting was attended by, on the Japanese side, Ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs (Chief Negotiator) and representatives from other relevant ministries and on the EU side, Mr. Mauro Petriccione, Deputy Director-General, Directorate-General for Trade, European Commission (Chief Negotiator) and other representatives.

3. At the meeting, fruitful discussions were conducted on areas such as trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property rights, non-tariff measures, government procurement and others.

4. The next round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in Tokyo in the week of December 8th.